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Wednesday, 30 August 2017

#RPGaDAY2017: Day 30: RPG Genre Mash-up

The official wording includes "you'd most like to see", which implies finding one that doesn't already exist and I can't think of one.

I've talked a couple of times about the Buffy game I want to run for Bells and my circus friends, and today I'd like to talk about the sort of game Bells would like to run, because it kinda falls into this category.

Of our normal gaming groups, we're the most interested in the mix of magic and tech that makes up a game like Shadowrun. The others generally seem to have the attitude that you should have on or the other (Deadlands has magic and tech, but it's steampunk rather than cyberpunk tech, so apparently that makes the combination ok - because the tech is kinda magic rather than tech, maybe?)

One of the bits of Exalted we're most enjoying is (re-)discovering First Age tech. In this instance, the tech is magical, or deeply rooted in magic, but due to historical events the ability to use magic at the level required to create, maintain and understand the tech is lost.

The first place I came across a concept like this is in (potential spoilers) Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, which starts out as straight fantasy, but is eventually revealed to be set on an alien planet colonised by Earth ships and then dragons created by genetically modifying local wildlife to protect the colonists from an unexpected threat. Further natural disasters destroy a lot of what they brought with them, reverting the society to something more akin to the quasi-medieval, quasi-feudal hierarchy we're used to seeing in fantasy, and the passage of time and need to share how to survive the planet meaning stories of how they arrived there were lost. When I read the book that revealed the sci fi element in my mid-teens, I was amazed. Now it seems a bit clumsily handled, but then it was mind-blowing and eye-opening (and a little disappointing because I wanted the fantasy).

It will come as no surprise, then, that we're both keen to try Numenera. Lost tech that's understood as magic by current users and trying to unravel the mysteries of the past really appeals. Bells has mentioned he'd be interested in running it if he could find a suitable group - ie, people who're interested and not going to dominate - and had the time. If he does ever get the chance, I hope to be able to play in it. I'm really intrigued to explore the setting and know he, like me, is more interested in exploration and interaction than combat, so think any game he ran would play to my interests.

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RPGaDAY was started by Dave Chapman and is currently curated by RPG Brigade. To join in yourself, follow the questions in the graphic and blog, vlog, tweet, or otherwise share your responses with the hashtag RPGaDAY2017.